Poll: Only 1 in 4 California Voters Can Identify Neel Kashkari

14 Sep 2014

LOS ANGELES, California — A new poll conducted by USC Dornsife in conjunction with the Los Angeles Times found that only one in four likely California voters are able to identify Governor Jerry Brown’s Republican opponent Neel Kashkari.

According to the Times, the poll shows that Brown has a 21-point lead over Kashkari among likely voters who are expected to cast their ballots on the November 4 general election; 36% said they would vote for Kashkari and 51% said they would vote for Brown. If Brown wins, he would be serving his fourth term as governor of California.

The poll notes that “the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences/Los Angeles Times poll was conducted by telephone among 1,507 registered California voters Sept. 2 through 8. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points overall and 3.3 points for those mostly likely to cast ballots in the general election.”

“You might as well go with what you know,” said Terry Anderson, 44, who is a Los Angeles-based real estate agent and a registered Democrat. He reportedly told the Times that he could not identify Kashkari and that he plans to vote for Brown.

But Marc Frelier, 24, who is in the process of becoming a tax agent in Los Angeles, cited it as being time for a change. “I don’t necessarily think what he’s [Brown] done is bad…but it’s time for new leadership. It’s good to get fresh eyes.” Frelier is registered as a Republican.

As of June, Brown had $22 million in his campaign war chest and Kashkari had spent $1 million of his own money.

The Times notes that 64% of likely voters they interviewed also said they would most likely support the November water bond measure, which is estimated to cost the state $560 million over the course of 40 years. 51% of registered voters reportedly called the state’s water situation a crisis, compared to just 21% one year ago.